New prospects for Kenyan pyrethrum

In Kenya, cultivation of pyrethrum (Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium) has the wind in its sails. Once popular with farmers, it fell out of favour because of the tender handling it needs, and the consequent labour-intensive costs. Kenya used to be the world s leading producer, but production fell from 17,000 tonnes to 4,000 tonnes in a matter of years. There is a strong world market for pyrethrum in the field of organic pesticides: its dried flower contains 1 to 2% of a chemical element used to make non-toxic insecticides. To encourage renewed cultivation, the Kenyan government has raised the price for the dried flowers to KSH 160.60 (about h 2.21), by KSH 22, or 16%. Encouragement is coming from the Kenyan Agricultural Research Institute too; it is working on less fragile varieties to assist farmers. Kenya Agricultural Research Institute PO Box 57811, Nairobi Kenya Fax : +254 2 58 33 44 Email : resource.centre@kari.orgIn Kenya, cultivation of pyrethrum (Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium) has the wind in its sails. Once popular with farmers, it fell out of favour because of the tender handling it needs, and the consequent labour-intensive costs. Kenya used to be the..